Am just wondering how other people thoughts would be . Do I , don't I . Was on W&W for 2 and half years. Started treatment in Dec 2022. On O& V. Was a very bumpy few months . Very good results , Like majic as many of as have experienced or experiencing still. Hopefully will finish in Dec .
We had plans to move abroad to Italy , untill our life's were turned upside down . We have always known , I have better health abroad . We were going 6 months of the year 7 years before being diagnosed. It also helped with my M.E chronic fatigue .
We want to continue with our dream next year. We Will have a property in the UK so can come and go !!. . My head is very messed up ...
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Stavrou1
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It would be a no brainer for me Stavrou. Life is for living and it’s only a short hop away with presumably decent medical care available should it be needed. If you feel much better abroad it’s worth living your best life.
Hopefully your results will be good which will ease your decision but if you can be seen there and monitored, go for it and enjoy! 😊
Thank you for your reply, that's what I am thinking , the big dilemma is not able to afford insurance . And i would've be be entitled to cancer treatment. Can after 7 years of becoming a citizen. I will have a base here in the UK. I can't praise enough our NHS. Amazing care throughout. I will keep looking in to insurances . 😊
I would have concerns if you hadn’t had your base in the UK to fall back on. I always think ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ You have covered that base as far as I can see - you just come home!
Let us know what you decide by enjoy life whatever you do
Thank you 😊. If treatment continues to go well , I will finish in Dec !. And plan to go next June . I want to give myself 6months to see how am doing . Will defo keep posted . We all need dreams and hopes . We have had this 30 years ago !!. X
I'm interested to know the practicalities of this. After Brexit I assume we have lost our entitlement to freedom of movement and to retire within the EU. We gave up on our plan for this. Is it still possible?
Absolutely correct Ashikaga we have lost our entitlement to freedom in the EU countries I am fortunate, that i have been able to get my dual nationality through my parents . Not straight forward . Has been amost 2 years since I applied in person at the embassy in London. Has taken over a year to grant it and 4 trips to the embassy .... i am still waiting for my I.D card and passport!! Can cost around £300-£400 . It will be worth it 😊.
Bear in mind, if you are a British passport holder, you can only spend 90 days out of 180 days in the Schengen area (which includes Italy) Otherwise you'll have to get Italian residency as a non-citizen. With a Greek name, could you qualify for a Greek EU passport, then you'd have no restrictions.
Even EU citizens like my dual English-French passport-holding partner have to register their place of residency in the 'competent Municipality' in Italy if they plan to stay for over 3 months. Non-EU citizens from US, UK, Canada etc like me have to apply for a permit - in GOOD TIME i.e. as soon as we arrive - to stay over 3 months, including anywhere in the EU (we can't just pop into France then back again), and even if going back to the UK for example and returning, can't spend more than 90 days in 180 days in the EU, so have to wait it out until the next 180 days begins again.
My partner and I got 'stuck' in Italy in my rural little house over the whole of winter 2020-2021 with the pandemic (in the EU for nearly 8 months), but in those days didn't have our passport stamped when we drove in via France for my partner's work in France. We, laid low, were grateful it was much safer there than in London and the UK or (especially) France (we didn't know then I had CLL) and had no trouble getting out again once it became safe and possible again. Now, my passport is stamped when I enter the EU, and the whole EU are keeping an eye on this, so no way could I stay longer than 3 months without getting a permit as soon as I arrive - apparently the wait is very long, and Italian bureaucracy as you probably know already entangling and unending....!
It's worth getting advice on residency and the tax things as some regions only make you pay a very small amount of tax to encourage foreigners to settle there (not where we are, but we're not thinking of settling abroad in any case, merely taking long breaks and to work on-line there).
I find thelocal.it/category/italy-... is good. They send me an email most days about issues for ex-pats, that come in handy. The Italians are awfuly good at on-the-spot fines for all sorts of things that need avoiding! and there is some health advice as new Italian legislation on this pops up, for example.
Good luck, look into the health/treatment/finance issues, then go for it!
Thanks for you so much for your in put of your experience., take it all on board . You certainly know how it works , and the Italian bureaucracy unending , your so correct !! . For 7 years before the pandemic, we were renting 6 months a year in a Italian community, wonderful . We have learnt a lot and still finding things out as they change !! . We will be looking to buy .... if all goes well. We are going for a month in September, and will be travelling by car as we don't want take the risk of catching covid and infections... in airports or on a flight . We have also taken a good health insurance for myself . . Thank you all once again . 😊
You may need to look into NHS eligibility. If you don't actually live in UK, the NHS can deny you it's services. You would then have to look to the Italian state medical services, or private.
Hi Graham Thank you for your message . There is no doubt at all we will be coming back and
forwards several weeks at a time ..we are still trying to work it out !! We are also very aware the NHS can deny you , Certainly would not abuse our system . Am forever grateful to them.
Italian state residence takes 7 years . Private is not a option . We just couldn't fund it . 😊
Hi Stavrou. I didn't read the post title properly, thought it was about permanently living abroad. Hope you can work out a happy compromise. So much more difficult after brexit.
I would say it depends where abroad. The NHS in the UK is a safe place to be and even with treatment on going, I would hope one can come and go and split your time between the UK and the other country you want to go to. However, with Brexit now, one only has 90 days limit at any one time to spend in the EU...
My sister moved to Italy right at the start of Covid from the Netherlands. I am Dutch but living in the US. She is a radiologist, retired in 2020. She loves living in italy but admits that healthcare can be challenging. She had her first mammogram last year and told me the X-ray machine they used, she hadn’t seen like that in over 20 years.
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